Logo

I shelled some pennies out of pocket and have a working logo that will be introduced to the site soon!  Yeah, I’m digging it.  It goes with the whole transit and sleuth theme, and has a bit of Portland style to boot!  Yes, I hired local, cuz I’m cool like that.  Stay tuned, it’ll be up real soon!

Interviews

I’ve sent out a few (ok, 100+) interviews to Portlanders, Chicagoans, San Franciscans, and many more about their respective commutes.  This I’ll put together in a series of entries and also do a kind of roll up aggregate of the totals.  It is, at this time, a bit biased since it is mostly tech related & Twitter users.  But none the less, it’s still rather interesting when you get into the different commutes different people have for different career fields.

Transit Influx

Looks like PDX is starting to go hard core on transit planning again.  Of course, leading the charge is light rail plans (cuz ya know, you can just toss buses into service without planning?!?  I suppose, seems they’re often left out).  I’ll have more on some of the maps and other thoughts soon.

Took these during my commute experiment on the WES.

This is a shot of the Cherriots Express Bus to Salem.

The design definitely stood out, even though it had a rather 80’s feel to it.  I still dug it, regardless.

I had hoped to jump one of these buses down to Salem and back in the afternoon after work one day, but since most of the week was screwed up I didn’t make it.

Also note, the hybrid design of the bus, which I’m still surprised TriMet can’t find more use for Hybrid buses or at least clean fuel burning buses.

The next set are photos I got while waiting at Beaverton Transit Center.

Over the next couple weeks (or maybe months even) I’ll be posting interviews I’m lining up with commuters all around Portland and the world for that matter.  The interviews will follow a certain set of questions but also not be limited to those questions.  The general theme will be what someone uses for their mode, why they use that mode, and what they like or don’t like about their commute.  Ending with what one would do to change their commute if they could.

If anyone out there in the blogosphere would like to be interviewed, or would like me to chase someone down specifically, let me know – leave a comment.

Some key people I’d like to interview in regards to this is Portland’s Mayor Sam Adams & it would be real cool if I could land an interview with President Obama.  Maybe that is a bit high to aim, but hey, I don’t like to put limits on myself.

Any other ideas for interviews or suggestions on topics related to commuting, transportation, or things of this nature pop a comment in.

TriMet received approval from the FTA for preliminary engineering of the Milwaukee extension of light rail.

That’s awesome in my book, it gives me X more options that I can get to comfortably by 2015.  That is, if things go as planned.  There are a few things I have to nitpick though.

1. Why do we put up with these plans & construction taking so long?  It should take about 8-12 months to do all construction and get a line running once the blue prints/engineering plans are signed off.  It shouldn’t take longer than a month or two to get the plans verified and signed off.  I understand what the problem is, and I find it absolutely unacceptable, it’s morbidly sickening how long it takes to do a project like this and adds vast amounts of money to the cost.
2. The line will create 12,300 jobs.  I don’t know why they prospect such nonsense.  There won’t be a 12,300 job increase in the area, they can’t accurately estimate an increase in the area, basically it is a found-less accusation.  I hate it when the Government(Government entities) makes these asinine projections.  Please TriMet, and other entities working on this, try to keep it to the facts and facts only.  If you’re going to market something, at least market it with some truth standards.
3. They don’t mention a key fact.  TriMet has in the news release, “The Portland-Milwaukie project funds are a combination of federal, state and local funds and cannot be used to offset the agency’s $13.5 million general fund shortfall for FY2010. Federal funding is expected to cover 50-60 percent of the light rail project.”  Why don’t they mention the fact that operations along this line for persons carried will drop drastically when the light rail is opened.  Of course they’ll put some money into it, but the Feds will pay most of it enabling TriMet to keep more money by eliminating redundant service along the corridor and working toward arterial feeder lines instead.  They don’t mention that at all, even though it is a MAJOR selling point for light rail.

Oh well, now that I’ve got the partially negative grumpiness out of the way I’ll hit on the good news.

1. This extension connects to one area that will absolutely use light rail extensively.
2. The motivation for individuals along this route to go car less will increase.
3. The travel time will be more sustainable than the current #33 (in theory).
4. The light rail will most likely attract a 5-25% increase in transit usage in the corridor.
5. The opening of this line, in 2015, will possibly push Light Rail MAX usage past bus ridership levels.

…and the most important reason to me.  It will motivate me to actually go explore the areas south of downtown along the corridor every once in a while, just as it will others.  Currently there isn’t much reason for me to jump on the bus or something to go down that way, but the light rail I’d board to go explore.  Same goes for Clackamas Town Center.  When the Green Line opens I’ll definitely head out to that mall every once in a while as I’m sure hundreds of others will also.  The mall could prospectively see an increase of 2-6% in sales.  Just the corridor alone will get a boost.  The I-205 mall area will definitely get some more visits by myself and the GF.  Currently we travel out that way via the #15 maybe once every 2-3 months for bulk commodity (like dish soap) just for fun.  The Green Line will enable us to cut costs by traveling there more frequently to buy bulk items.  However that same event will decrease some of the commodity items we end up getting at local areas in the south east, but not significantly.  Most of it will be 100% new purchases.

That’s it for my rambling on the new line(s) and the prospect of the Milwaukee Line.

MAX Red Line, MAX Blue Line, to #9 and Code, Code, Code

I was coding like a mad man, so I decided to hit my second place.  A second place is one of those places, that isn’t home, that you go to think.  For me, I like to ride around town, generally on transit because then I can think and not be interrupted.  It could be thought of as odd, but it keeps my attention from running off, the irony that it is.

I boarded the MAX Red Line across the river from downtown to the Convention Center Stop, then walked back toward the Rose Quarter Transit Center ever so slowly to kill time.  The Blue Line, which is what I was after, arrived shortly after I arrived at the stop.  I boarded and pulled my second brain out (that’s the computer/laptop).  I immediately dived into some architectural ideas and more code.

Bicycle Fare Officer Inspector Dude

The trip was uneventful until about 3 stops from my destination of Gresham.  Upon leaving the third stop two bicycle officers boarded the train and started checking for fare.  Of course, my response was, “rad, bust some punks”.  Sure enough, this one guy who had been on the train since 42nd or 60th didn’t have fare.  He didn’t even sugar coat it, but he lied like the fool he showed himself to be.  He spouted off with every facial recognition of a liar, “No sir, I don’t have a fare, I was only going two stops.”  I immediately thought, “two stops my foot!”

The officer told him he’d have to get off at the next stop and he’d check his name and write some paperwork.  The officer asked the kid for ID, which he reported he didn’t have any.  This was complete malarkey too, as the guy had his ID out about 5 minutes ago twiddling it in his fingers.

Me being a non-rat, I still couldn’t bare to say anything.  But I was piping to chime in and correct his outright lies.  At this point, I figured whatever, it was entertainment and I’d just let the officers figure it out for themselves.

Gresham, Land of Idiots and Morons

I got off in Gresham and wasn’t surprised one bit to see the buses shut without drivers.  It is a layover point and I’m sure they drivers are told to shut the buses.  The scum that line in Gresham are ripe for finding targets to desecrate, and TriMet has big huge ones in their buses and LRVs.  I only had a mere 5 minutes transfer in Gresham between the MAX and the #9, so I didn’t mind too much.  Eventually the drive arrived, entered through the back door, and let everyone else on.

We headed off into the darkness with a bus full of idiots.  Carrying on in blathering absurdity about things I often forget, on purpose, that people talk about.  Trite and absurd, but it was entertainment none the less, and I was being left alone.  Within 25-30 blocks of getting out of downtown Gresham we rid ourselves of the idiots and the bus grew quite with blue collar workers and simple cordial people boarding here and there.  With the idiots gone, the bus was now less entertaining, but any theoretical threat had also left with them.

The ride went smoothly and eventually I bounded off of the bus and walked my 1/2 block home.

Goofy Stats for the Ride About

• Trip Start:  7:24pm by me walking away from Backspace downtown toward MAX.
• Trip End:  9:XXpm by my walking 1/2 block home.
• Idiots:  6
• Smelly Cigarette Smokers:  1  (out of the dozens of riders)
• Acts of Respect or Cordial Behavior:  3
• Peak Load on #9:  20
• Peak Load on MAX Blue Line:  126-131  (I missed right front high floor section, but could tell there where occupants)
• Peak Load on MAX Red Line:  60-70  (Estimated as I was only on for 3 stops)
• Police Officers for Entire Ride:  2
• Proven non-paying customers:  1
• People on MAX Blue Line when non-paying customer was caught:  12
• Languages Heard:  2  (English & Spanish)
• Total mileage approximately: 30 mile round trip.
• MAX Blue Line Light Rail Trip Time:  35 minutes.
• #9 Bus Trip Time:  42 minutes.